Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1978

Government grants to housing authorities and voluntary organisations

Housing support grants: fixing of aggregate amount

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• (1) For the purpose of assisting local authorities in Scotland to meet reasonable housing needs in their areas, the Secretary of State shall, for the year 1979-80 and each subsequent year, make grants to local authorities in accordance with the provisions of this Act; and any grants made in pursuance of this subsection shall be known as " housing support grants ".

• (2) For the purpose of fixing the aggregate amount of the housing support grants for any year, the Secretary of State shall,

in respect of all local authorities in Scotland, estimate the following amounts—

• (a) the aggregate amount of eligible expenditure which it is reasonable for local authorities to incur for that year; and

• (b) the aggregate amount of relevant income which local authorities could reasonably be expected to receive for that year,

and the amount remaining after deducting the amount mentioned in paragraph (b) above from the amount mentioned in paragraph (a) above shall, subject to subsection (4) below and section 3 of this Act, be the aggregate amount of the housing support grants for that year.

• (3) Before estimating the amounts mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) above for any year, the Secretary of State shall consult with such associations of local authorities as appear to him to be concerned and shall take into consideration—

• (a) the latest information available to him as to the level of eligible expenditure and relevant income ;

• (b) the level of interest rates, remuneration, costs and prices which, in his opinion, would affect the amount of eligible expenditure for that year; and

• (c) the latest information available to him as to changes in the general level of earnings which would affect the amount of relevant income which could reasonably be expected for that year.

• (4) In fixing the aggregate amount of the housing support grants for the year 1980-81 or any subsequent year, the Secretary of State may take into account the extent, if any, to which the aggregate amount of eligible expenditure which it was reasonable for local authorities to incur for any previous year differs or is likely to differ from the aggregate amount for that previous year which he estimated or re-estimated tinder this section or section 3 of this Act respectively.

• (5) The aggregate amount of the housing support grants, fixed in accordance with subsection (2) above for any year, shall be set out in an order made by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury (in this Act referred to as a " housing support grant order "); and a housing support grant order may be made in respect of any year before the beginning of that year.

• (6) No housing support grant order shall be made until that order has been laid in draft before the Commons House of Parliament, together with a report of the considerations leading to the provisions of the order, and has been approved by a resolution of that House.

• (7) In this Act—

• " eligible expenditure ", in relation to any year, means the expenditure which a local authority are required to debit to their housing revenue account for that year in pursuance of Schedule 4 to the Act of 1972;

• " relevant income", in relation to any year, means the income and any rate fund contribution which a local authority are required to credit to their housing revenue account for that year in pursuance of the said Schedule 4.

Apportionment of housing support grants

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• (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the proportion of the aggregate amount of the housing support grants payable for any year to a local authority shall be determined by the Secretary of State, after consulting with such associations of local authorities as appear to him to be concerned, by such method as may be prescribed ; and a prescribed portion of the said aggregate amount may be apportioned to a particular local authority.

• (2) The report accompanying a housing support grant order in accordance with section 1(6) of this Act shall contain a table showing the estimated amount of grant payable to each local authority for the year in question.

• (3) In prescribing the method of determining the proportion mentioned in subsection (1) above payable to a local authority for the year 1980-81 or any subsequent year, the Secretary of State may take into account any substantial difference in the actual amount of any element of their eligible expenditure as compared with any estimate of the amount of that element made by him in determining the said proportion payable to them for a previous year.

• (4) In prescribing the method of determining the proportion mentioned in subsection (1) above payable for any year to a local authority the Secretary of State shall have regard to any special needs affecting eligible expenditure.

• (5) Subject to subsection (6) below, the Secretary of State may, for any year (in this subsection and in subsection (6) below referred to as " the current year "), prescribe such method of determining the said proportion as to secure that no reduction in the amount of housing support grant payable to any local authority for the current year as compared with the amount of housing support grant so payable for the immediately preceding year is so great that there is an unreasonable increase for the current year over that preceding year in the amount of the authority's eligible expenditure which is required to be met by way of rent or rate fund contributions.

• (6) Subsection (5) above shall have effect—

• (a) where the current year is 1979-80 as if for the words " amount of housing support grant so payable for the immediately preceding year " there were substituted the words " aggregate amount of subsidies as estimated by the Secretary of State so payable for the year 1978-79 under the enactments described in Part I of Schedule 1 to and paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 7 (8) of this Act ";

• (b) where the current year is 1979-80 or 1980-81 as if for the word " may" there were substituted the word " shall ".

• (7) In this section " prescribed " means prescribed by a housing support grant order.

Variation of orders

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• (1) If it appears to the Secretary of State after consulting with such associations of local authorities as appear to him to be concerned that, after the time when the amount mentioned in section 1(2)(a) of this Act was estimated for any year, the eligible expenditure of local authorities for that year has been or is likely to be substantially increased or decreased by reason of changes which have taken place or are likely to take place in the level of the matters specified in section 1(3)(b) of this Act, and that inadequate account was taken of those changes when the amount mentioned as aforesaid was estimated, he may at any time after such consultation re-estimate for that year the said amount; and by an order made in the like manner and subject to the like provisions as a housing support grant order, may increase or, as the case may be, decrease the amount fixed by the relevant housing support grant order as the aggregate amount of the housing support grants for that year.

• (2) An order made under this section with respect to any year may, as respects that year, vary any matter prescribed by the relevant housing support grant order.

Grants payable to the Scottish Special Housing Association and development corporations

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• (1) The Secretary of State shall, for the year 1978-79 and each subsequent year, make grants to the Scottish Special Housing Association (in this Act referred to as "the Association ") and to development corporations in accordance with the provisions of this section.

• (2) Grants under this section shall be payable for any year to the Association in respect of the total net annual expenditure (as calculated in accordance with rules made by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury) necessarily incurred for that year by the Association, acting otherwise than as agents—

• (a) in providing housing accommodation by—

• (i) erecting houses,

• (ii) converting any houses or other buildings into houses,

• (iii) acquiring houses;

• (b) in improving housing accommodation so provided;

• (c) in managing and maintaining any housing accommodation provided or improved as aforesaid;

• (d) in improving the amenities of a predominantly residential area:

• (e) in providing or converting buildings for use as hostels, or as parts of hostels, as defined in section 138(4) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1966 and in improving, managing and maintaining buildings so provided or converted ;

• (f) in doing anything ancillary to any of the activities mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (e) above.

• (3) In subsection (2) above " improving " includes altering, enlarging or repairing.

• (4) Subsections (2) and (3) above shall apply to a development corporation as they apply to the Association, but as if in subsection (2) the words " acting otherwise than as agents " were omitted.

Financial assistance to voluntary organisations concerned with housing

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• (1) The Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury and upon such terms and subject to such conditions as he may determine, give to a voluntary organisation assistance by way of grant or by way of loan, or partly in the one way and partly in the other, for the purpose of enabling or assisting the organisation to provide training or advice, or to undertake research, or for other similar purposes relating to housing.

• (2) In this section " voluntary organisation" means a body the activities of which are carried on otherwise than for profit, but does not include any public or local authority or a housing association registered in the register of housing associations established under section 13 of the Housing Act 1974.

Payment of grants and accounting provisions

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• (1) Any grant to be paid by the Secretary of State under this Act shall be payable at such times and in such manner as he may determine and subject to such conditions as he may impose.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, the making of any such payment shall be subject to the making of an application for the payment in such form, and containing such particulars, as the Secretary of State may from time to time determine.

Termination of certain exchequer payments to housing authorities

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• (1) No payment shall be made—

• (a) for the year 1979-80 or any subsequent year to a local authority under any of the enactments described in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act;

• (b) for the year 1978-79 or any subsequent year to—

• (i) the Association under any of the enactments described in Parts II and III of that Schedule ;

• (ii) a development corporation under any of the enactments described in the said Part II.

• (2) The right of a local authority to receive any payment under any of the enactments described in Part I of the said Schedule 1 or section 105 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1950 shall be extinguished unless an application has been made for the payment before 31st March 1980 or such later date as the Secretary of State may in exceptional circumstances allow.

• (3) Subject to the following provisions of this section, where—

• (a) information given to the Secretary of State on any such application as is mentioned in subsection (2) above for a payment includes any particulars which are, and are stated to be, based on an estimate; and

• (b) it appears to the Secretary of State—

• (i) that the estimate is reasonable, and

• (ii) that, assuming the estimate were correct, the information and other particulars given on the application are sufficient to enable him to determine the amount of the payment;

the Secretary of State may accept the estimate and make a payment accordingly.

• (4) Any payment made in pursuance of subsection (3) above so far as it is based on an estimate of the cost of land may be adjusted when the final cost of the land is ascertained.

• (5) Where any payment is made in pursuance of subsection (3) above, the recipient shall not be entitled to question the amount of the payment on a ground which means that the estimate was incorrect.

• (6) Where the Secretary of State is not satisfied that the estimate is reasonable, he may, if he thinks fit, accept the application and make a payment of such amount as appears to him reasonable.

• (7) No housing association grant under section 29 of the Housing Act 1974 shall be paid to a local authority, the Association or a development corporation in respect of any project completed after 31st March 1979.

• (8) No payment shall be made for the year 1979-80 or any subsequent year under—

• (a) section 27(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1949, section 89(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1950 or section 21(1) of the Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968 (exchequer contributions for hostels); or

• (b) section 33 of the Housing Act 1974 (hostel deficit grants) to a local authority, the Association or a development corporation.

Grants and loans by local authorities

Repairs grant

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After section 10 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1974 there shall be inserted the following section—

(10A) (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a local authority— (a) shall make a grant in respect of works for the repair of a house (in this Part of this Act referred to as a " repairs grant ") where the works are to rectify defects specified in a notice under section 24(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1969 ; (b) may make a repairs grant in respect of works of repair to a house to be carried out in circumstances other than those specified in paragraph (a) above, if an application is made in accordance with the provisions of this section and approved by the local authority in such circumstances as they think fit. (2) A local authority shall not approve an application under this section unless they are satisfied that the house to which the application relates will provide satisfactory housing accommodation for such period and conform with such requirements with respect to construction and physical condition and the provision of services and amenities as may be specified for the time being for the purposes of this section by the Secretary of State. (3) In considering whether or not to approve an application for a repairs grant, a local authority shall have regard to the question whether, in their opinion, the applicant would, without undue hardship, be able to finance the expense of the relevant works without the assistance of a repairs grant. (4) The amount of a repairs grant shall not exceed 50 per cent., or such other percentage as may be prescribed, of the approved expense of the works, but the approved expense shall not exceed £1,500 or such other amount as may be prescribed in respect of each house to which the application relates. (5) Sections 2 to 10 of this Act (other than section 5(1), (1A), (3) and (5) and section 7) shall apply to an application for a repairs grant as they apply to an application for an improvement grant.

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Duty of local authority to offer loans to meet expenses of repairs

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After section 24 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1969 there shall be inserted the following section—

(24A) (1) Where the person having control of a house is willing to carry out the works necessary to rectify the defects specified in the notice under section 24(1) of this Act, he may, not later than 21 days from the date of service of the said notice, or from the date of determination of any appeal thereon, apply to the local authority for a loan. (2) Subsections (2) to (8) of section 24 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1974 shall apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section, but as if in subsection (5)(b) for the words from " improvement " to the end there were substituted the words " the works necessary to rectify the defects specified in the notice under section 24(1) of this Act have been executed.

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Miscellaneous and general

Improvement of houses below tolerable standard outside housing action areas

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After section 14 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1974 there shall be inserted the following section—